Jeff Cannon

01
Father Time
Father time has left the family,
Now he's married to the mob,
He lost his patience slowly,
And then he lost his job,

Over thousands of years of father time,
This is all that remains,
Of your single proudest moment,
And your worst growing pains,

Do you lie awake wondering why,
And where the hell is father time?

Today I saw old father time
Having coffee with his new gods,
There's a laptop computer and headset phone,
For checkin' out the latest odds,

He's got a two o'clock with the sandman,
'Cause he's always free for lunch,
And by five he's on the blackjack table,
Makin' love to his latest hunch,

Look at the fear in his eyes,
That man was father time.

Somebody strike a match and let it fly,
The whole joint is burning,
Breathe the smoke inside,
Now you've lost your innocence,
Bring back father time.

So I asked him for a reason,
Something I could understand,
He said, "They don't keep track of time no more,
and that's why I got canned.
With so many hungry voices,
Who'll never have their day,
If they don't believe their choices,
They'll just take the shortest way. 
Step to the end of the line,
I'm no longer father time."

Somebody strike a match and let it fly,
Can you leave it burning,
Breathe the smoke inside?
Will you lose your patience,
Just like father time?

Me I want to build it slowly,
And I want to make it last,
But when I try to seize the moment,
It seems the moment just went past,
Under the lights of a big casino,
With a wild look in his eyes,
Stands another slave to hunger,
It's hard to believe
This madman once was father time.

Jeff Cannon: Vocals and acoustic guitar
Duncan Watt: Piano
Jerry Gregoire: Bass

Recorded 1995,  My Other Hat Studio, Swampscott, Mass.

 

02
Wild Peace
Just let it run; get out the way,
Get out the way and let it run,
Let peace glide on the wires that you have
Run high and low now,
Free up your battle stations
And make a stand
With what you leave behind,
No desperados holed up in the hills,
No underground; the sun is on your side.
If it’s happening it has to be up higher;
It’s got to be high liberating.

Wild peace, unafraid, undivided,
Wild peace, peace must be made,
That’s where the fight is,
Get it wired, get it wired;
Let the wires lead the way
And wage wild peace.

She said, “Are you waiting for a sign?           
Did you think you missed your time?
Said,”Long as you’re still alive,”
Said, “You’re inside, you can decide it.
We suffer too much in silence, Say it, say it —
Hey, fill ‘em up with sunlight,
It’s coming out, that reign is over.”

Wild peace, it’s our great wonder-child,
Wild peace, rise up and flame into the wild,
Set a fire, set a fire; let the fires burn away
And wage wild peace.

Did you ask if you gave, gave enough?
Did you learn that to love, just to love, was enough?
Did you love? I say love, only love, is not enough.
Did you love peace?

Just let it run; get out the way,
Get out the way and let it run.

Jeff Cannon: Lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, organ, trumpet samples
Amy Malkoff: Backing vocals
Jon Svetkey: Backing vocals
Stu Kimball: Electric guitar
Austin Hoke: Cellos
Slats Klug: Piano
John Mettam: Drums and percussion

Recorded 2012-13,  Brooklyn Recording, Brooklyn, NY; My Other Hat Studio, Bervely, MA; Jake Beyer, Nashville, TN; Primary Sound, Bloomington, IN.

 

03
Holding On
Every Monday the race for the world light begins,
Up on Stone’s Way they’re revved up and wired to win,
But we’re not the players,
We’re not even playing along, not along,
We hold the trains, the brave sons and daughters,
As if we’re in waiting, as if we’re not giving our lives,
Whole lives holding on.

Everyone has some, I work for someone,
Stitching his riding grays,
Once I was like you, A blind one who rode true,
But I never found the way,
Now I see traces, The hope on your faces,
Worn like a bridal veil,
Come lay ‘till riding hour.

Oh, but something’s not right in the main,
Ride it out now child, like the last from our side,
Hold your reins, holding on, now brothers,
And sisters, I think you’re the way riding on.

Every Monday the race for the world light begins,
Every Monday we get up and choose once again,
Big-game ambition will take you away from your love,
Yes from love,
But if you choose love, you’ll stitch like a madman,
Down in the deep end, where love slips away from inside,
The hole’s inside.

Yeah they’ll humble you, tumble you,
Crumble and scatter you wide,
We’re all watching water fall through
Holes inside Walden Pond.
And holding on.

Jeff Cannon: All vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, bass
Jim Hoke: Pedal steel guitars
Max Frank: Cello
Ariel Detwiler: Cello score
John Mettam: Drums and percussion

Recorded 2012-13,  Brooklyn Recording, Brooklyn, NY; Jeff Cannon; Jim Hoke, Nashville, TN; Primary Sound, Bloomington, IN.

 

04
True
I swam the raging waters, but not this time,
No matter what the sign says,
I burned the marching orders, one and all,
And watched a city fall,
Now the next time I'll be on my side,
And on that lazy river ride,
To mine own self I'll be, I'll be true.

I smashed the family compass, It's just as well,
It took me straight to hell and back,
I made myself a promise, if I lost that game,
I'd proudly take the blame,

With my new shirt on, my new shirt on,
I'm taking a chance that the waters are gone,
But if they break on through I'll be true.

Like a rosebush losing petals in the rain,
I sit and wait until it's done,
I suppose that second nature can be trained,
So I'll start following the sun,
Yeah, yeah, I'll start following the sun.

So long to raging waters, and how 'bout you?
Do you know what to do? And are you the devils daughter?
Or are you true? And can we make it through?

With two calm hands, two solid hearts,
Where two rivers meet and then flow apart,
Where two times one is still two I'll be true.

Jeff Cannon: Vocals and acoustic guitar
Jamey Reid: Drums
Jack Helsley: Bass
Dan Lodge-Rigal: Piano

Recorded 1999, Airtime Studio, Bloomington, IN.

 

05
Fist
Fist, held up to the sky,
Nothing bad is getting through,
And nothing is coming in,
With anger in your home,
What can you win?

One two three four,
Make a fist and you go to war.

Friends and all your best-laid plans,
I watched you make them one by one,
And chase them all away,
Pretending it's a plan,
What is your game?

One two three four,
Make a fist and you go to war,
You're fighting, you think that's the way,
"It's just one more day"
You say that so well.

Last night the target was your heart,
I watched a dagger cutting through,
And I was you just then,
I saw you make a fist,
Beginning the end,

One two three four,
Make a fist and you go to war,
One two three four,
If you make a fist it don't matter
What you're fighting for.

"Its what I am, it's in the plan,"
That's what you say now,
That's not what you are,
You're throwing stones.

One two three four,
If you make a fist it don't matter
What you're fighting for.

Jeff Cannon: Vocals and acoustic guitar
Adam Steinberg: Electric guitar
Greg Greenway: Backing vocals
Barbara Kessler: Backing vocals
John Mettam: Drums and percussion
Alan Williams: B-3 Organ
Seth Connelly: Bass

Recorded 1994, Soundworks Studio, Watertown, MA.

 

06
The Busker
See the king of big adventure,
Dodging stop-walks on the city street,
Mother sent me, not my brothers,
All alone, yeah, Hallelujah,

“Don’t be long,” she said,
“And don’t you stop on the way,  
And if a stranger asks for the time,
Look away, look away,
There is danger across the divide
On DeVries Avenue.”

But I gave the time, and we shared our news,
And so I learned the Southside views,
And our frozen worlds were melting fine,
Out on the street we shared the time,

Then, in a house on fire,
All the walls tore away,
And I was told to say my good-byes,
Yeah, they sold that deal
Like they promised a new and improved
Devries Avenue. 

Every day I pray for sunshine,
That’s the one sign that predicts my day,
Hang a dark cloud, I can’t speak now,
Good-bye old town, hello stillness.

When the old north wind
Hauls the last cloud away,
And leaves a monument there to the strong,
From the other side, I'll come
Busking for your loose change,
On Devries Avenue

Jeff Cannon: Lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, bass
Jim Hoke: Pedal steel guitars
Max Frank: Cello
John Mettam: Drums and percussion

Recorded 2012-13,  Brooklyn Recording, Brooklyn, NY; Primary Sound, Bloomington, IN; Jim Hoke, Nashville, TN; Jeff Cannon.

 

07
Needle
Rest stop, five a.m., I’m waking from another sleep,
A breeze is on the way, so say the autumn leaves,
I feel the breeze, a fine New England town.

Young girl in a car, she’s sinking in a pillow haze,
Needle in her arm, and this is all that I can take,
I lie awake, a fine New England town.

It’s a vandal on a Picasso,
It’s a needle breaking the skin,
But real life ain’t a Picasso,
And I gotta stop trying to make it so.

Rest stop, eight a.m., I was gonna see the autumn leaves,
Time is standing still, I guess I’m standing watch,
While a young girl sleeps in my New England town.

It’s a vandal on a Picasso,
It’s a needle breaking the skin,
But real life ain’t a Picasso,
And I gotta stop trying to make it so,

I think I’ll do something differently today,
I need to do something differently today,
Today, you can come along if you want to.

Rest stop, ten a.m…

Jeff Cannon: Vocals and acoustic guitar
Keith Skooglund: Electric guitar
Jamey Reid: Drums and percussion
Dan Dolan: Bass

Recorded 2001, Airtime Studio, Bloomington, IN.

 

08
Blind Walk Blues
Blind life, blind love, blind walk in the light,
I reel in ideals indirectly at night,
But oh no, no, no, why can’t I feel?
I know, know, know, the wounds usually heal in time.

I’ve been me for some time, I’ve been here not so long,
In my dreams I can be where I really belong,
And I’ve flown around, but I’ve never been gone,
Now I’m on the ground, and you are the one for a change.

And you’re changing my lonely way,
Yeah, and I’m amazed,
Rearranging my only way to see who I am,
Let’s see if I can see just who you are.

It’s a bright-lights town, but I’m older, yeah, and I’m braver
See I’ve served hard time, in the love shack
On the wrong track the whole way,

And you’re changing my lonely way,
Yeah, and I’m amazed,
Rearranging my only way to see who I am,
Let’s see if I can see just who you are.

Blind life, blind love, blind walk in the light,
Blind life, blind love, blind walk in the light,

Jeff Cannon: Lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, bass
Stu Kimball: Electric guitar
Jim Hoke: Clarinets
Jonathan Elmer: Trombone
Slats Klug: Piano
John Mettam: Drums and percussion

Recorded 2012-13,  Brooklyn Recording, Brooklyn, NY; Jabe Beyer, Nashville, TN; Primary Sound, Bloomington, IN, Jim Hoke, Nashville, TN.

 

09
Love Illusion
You took it in a quick conversation,
I tried not to let you know,
You put my heart in your pocket
And then turned to go,

And part of me don't like the feeling,
The rest of me knows no fear,
And I know what's happening,
I know what's happening here.
It's that love illusion again.

Heart is beating a rhythm,
Orchestra follows the cue,
I close my eyes,
Now I'm dancing a waltz with you,
It's that love illusion again.

And I didn't mean to write you a love song,
The timing is all wrong, and that's not my way,
But that look in your eyes is something to die for,
And I hope that soon I'll be able to breathe again,
it's that love illusion again.

And somewhere off in the future,
Someone loses their way,
Something went wrong, but now
Nobody knows what to say,
It's that love illusion again,

And I didn't mean to write you a love song,
The timing is all wrong, and that's not my way,
But that look in your eyes is something to die for,
And I hope that soon I'll be able to breathe again,
It's that love illusion again.

Jeff Cannon: Vocals and acoustic guitar
Patty Griffin: Backing vocals
Johnny Cunningham: fiddles
John Mettam: Drums
Seth Connelly: Bass
Alan Williams: B-3 organ

Recorded 1994, Soundworks Studio, Watertown, MA.

 

10
Turn of the Century
Wake up the family,
Tell them that there’s just enough time,
Do you remember me?
No, I’m not the enemy,

I’m the mess of humanity,
I stay up all nght,
I don’t want your charity,
And I don’t wanna’ fight,
I would give anything for some real time,
Time, real time, realtime.

What’s that you’re telling me?
You think I’m not on your side?
You say you’re all alone,
I say that’s just this broken home,

Let it break like a headline about life on the run,
It's a race for the endline at a million to one,
We would give anything under the sun,
But there’s no time, there’s no time, No realtime,

Watching the world on TV
Don’t think I can change what’s in front of me
I never meant to agree at the turn of the century.

So now, my new friend,
What’s keepin’ you up at night?
Stuck in the fast lane?
No room to complain?

I don’t blame them for tryin’,
They don’t want no feedback,
In this game love is dyin',
It’s a matter of fact,
What would take to bring all of it back?
Time, real time, realtime.

Watching the world on TV
Don’t think I can change what’s in front of me
I never meant to agree at the turn of the century
At the turn of the century
At the turn of the century

Jeff Cannon: All vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, harmonica, organ
Adam Steinberg: Electric guitars
John Mettam: Drums and percussion

Recorded 2012-13,  Brooklyn Recording, Brooklyn, NY; Primary Sound, Bloomington, IN; Adam Steinberg, Boston, MA.

 

11
True Eyes
I climbed up to the sun to look into your eyes,
And then it all came back, and I prepared to die,
The way I did before, the last time I saw you,
The way I did before, what else could I do?
Too deep to last, we fell so fast,
Two eyes, true eyes, and gone too soon. 

Sometimes when it rains, the fire carries on,
It carries and complains, and sings its fire song:
Don’t stow your love away, when you know that it’s true,
There will come a day, when it will summon you,
To climb so high, to look inside,
Two eyes, true eyes that know you.              

So I set out to climb, like I did before,
Climbing toward the sun, now standing at your door,
Oh, look into mine, can you read between these lines?
Do you recognize true eyes, true eyes,? I know you do.

I climbed up to the sun to look into your eyes.

Jeff Cannon: Lead and backing vocals, piano and keyboards, acoustic guitar, bass, harmonica
Adam Steinberg: Electric guitars
Austin Hoke: Lead cellos
David Masterson: Trumpets
Max Frank: Cello intro
Jamey Reid: Drums
John Mettam: Hand and digital percussion

Recorded 2012-13,  Brooklyn Recording, Brooklyn, NY; Primary Sound, Bloomington, IN; Jim Hoke, Nashville, TN; Jeff Cannon; Adam Steinberg, Boston, MA.

12
Courage to be Kind
It’s the end of our conversation
And we’ve got each other on our minds,
We were counting all our worst mistakes
When you said, "Let’s stop, for goodness sakes,
It all just sounds like ancient history."

Even though our lives are always changing,
This time it feels like do or die,
No more anger, we’ve agreed,
No more acting selfishly.

And now we’ve come to this together,
We’re gonna’ put aside that world,
It doesn’t matter if it’s yours or if it’s mine,
We’ve made a promise to leave those things behind,
And find the courage, the courage to be kind.

In this world we’ve got to rise above it,
Out from the games, out from the lies,
Placing blame faithlessly,
Looking more like enemies,

We gotta’ face up to the madness
Of putting down this world,
When its changes have to come from here inside,
Let’s make a promise to leave our worst behind,
And find the courage, the courage to be kind.

It’s the end of our conversation
And we’ve got each other on our minds.

Jeff Cannon: Lead vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, harmonica
Rani Arbo: Harmony vocals
Mica Richards: Piano
Sean Staples: Mandolin
Jim Hoke: Pedal steel guitars
Max Frank: Cello
John Mettam: Drums and percussion

Recorded 2012-13,  Brooklyn Recording, Brooklyn, NY; The Barn, Middletown, CT; Primary Sound, Bloomington, IN; Jeff Cannon/Mica Richards, Framingham, MA.